1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a laundry treatment apparatus having an outer tub with reduced horizontal vibration.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical laundry treatment apparatus treats laundry by applying physical or chemical actions to the laundry and includes a washer that removes dirt from the laundry, a dehydrator that rotates, at high speed, the washing tub containing the laundry to dehydrate the laundry, and a dryer that supplies cool or hot air into the washing tub to dry the wet laundry.
A typical laundry treatment apparatus includes an outer tub supported and hung by a supporting rod in the casing and an inner tub rotating in the outer tub with laundry (or clothes) contained therein. A washer sometimes further includes a pulsator (or washing blades) that rotates in the inner tub. Such a configuration may cause the outer tub to vibrate when the pulsator spins. Accordingly, a typical laundry treatment apparatus has a device for mitigating vibration of the outer tub.
Conventionally, a buffering device is provided to connect the supporting rod with the outer tub. However, the buffering device primarily plays a role to reduce vertical vibration of the outer tub and does not work well enough to lessen horizontal vibration.
The recent trend of maximizing the volume of the outer tub without increasing the overall size of the laundry treatment apparatus, in order to increase use of the residential space leads to a decreased gap between the casing and the outer tub. However, as the gap between the casing and the outer tub decreases, the horizontal vibration is more likely to cause collision between the outer tub and the casing. Thus, a need exists for methods for effectively reducing the horizontal vibration of the outer tub.